Promise, Pitfalls, and Potential of Social Entrepreneurship

This book dives into the heart of social entrepreneurship as the authors share the latest research, global experiences, authentic private conversations, and diverse narratives around this widely popular concept.

The idea and practice of social entrepreneurship has swept the world, taken up with enthusiasm by business leaders, nonprofit practitioners, and public policy makers alike. In this book, the authors argue that social entrepreneurship is surrounded by great promise, and that this high expectation has contributed to its pitfalls, setting it out as separate and different from other kinds of nonprofit organising, public service provision, and business for social benefit. After exploring the problem of inflated expectations, the authors rescue the concept from perfection – overly positive normative judgements – by presenting practical ways forward.

The book sets out how to really unleash the power of social entrepreneurship so that it can actually deliver on its promise to improve how we organise for social purpose. This potential revolves around four key themes that are levers for social change: innovative individuals, social impact, scaling social enterprises, and the power of ecosystems. Through these themes, the book covers a wide range of approaches to social enterprise illustrated by specific examples and experiences from five continents.

This accessible book is a valuable resource for a variety of practitioners, upper-level students, instructors, and business scholars, particularly those with an interest in social/environmental impact, entrepreneurship, business ethics, sustainable business, ESG and CSR.